Minister rails at BCP over Labour Party funding

Gothataone Moeng | Thursday February 13, 2014 21:24

 

He said the BCP should not be proud of being funded to uproot the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) from ruling the country.

He said the move amounted to funding a coup d’etat.  Kgathi said it would be understandable if the Labour Party was funding the entire opposition as that could be interpreted as an issue of governance. He termed funding one party to removed a democratically elected government as going too far. “I take serious exception to that,” he said when debating the budget speech.

Kgathi said the BCP must state the promises they have made to the Labour Party in return for the funding. He said they should reassure Batswana that they have not committed to selling parts of the country.

At this point, the MP for Okavango, Bagalatia Arone of the BCP asked Kgathi what parts of the country the BDP has sold, as they have also received funding from various donors over the years. Kgathi responded: “As you claim to be a transparent party, tell us how much you are receiving, and what commitment you have made”. The minister who seemed to be still rattled by BCP president and Leader of Opposition, Dumelang Saleshando’s strong-worded condemnation of the budget proposals last week said he wondered if the Labour Party would be proud of a leader that insults cabinet. 

He quoted from the Bible, asking the BCP to remember that the Holy Book says: “Respect your mother and your father so your days may be numbered”.

Amid interjections from BCP MPs who said he had veered from responding to the budget, the minister claimed that his diatribe was in response to the governance chapter in the budget proposals. Kgathi praised the budget saying that it shows good performance and a leadership committed to youth empowerment through sports and culture.

He said the bulk of the budget is concerned with the plight of poor people. He praised the decision to reserve 20 percent of all procurement tenders for the youth, saying this illustrates the government’s commitment towards development of young people.

“During this administration, the (Youth Development Fund) has grown from P30 million to P120 million,” he said. He hailed the government for recognising the power of arts to create jobs for young people. He said in the past year, his ministry spent P1.5 million and funded 110 artists on exchange trips to different countries. He said the government has spent P3.6 million on the President’s Day constituency competitions.